Striking the metal with the power of a natural disaster yet the gentleness of a soft breeze Tang Wulin moved his body carefully, his mind and body moving in perfect sync to complete the task in front of him.
The metal was nearly done, he could feel it. It was close, he had nearly broken through the wall stopping his process. It was a taxing process that was straining even him though that was because of his main weakness.
'His energy reserves aren't enough.' Gu Yuena noted however she wasn't worried that her other half may fail. She was confident that he would be able to break through this wall with relative ease. Others may fail here but he would not.
Feeling the soul finish condensing he took his chance, biting through his own thumb and dropping a small droplet of diluted blood, his own blood. His blood was practically purely annihilation so he needed to be careful.
If he weakened it too much the metal would be weaker than he'd like and if it was too little the metal would be destroyed. He would need to find the balance and perfectly walk that line to ensure his first Soul Refined metal would be perfect.
The crimson drop of blood fluttered through the air in a strange way, almost as though it didn't belong in this world, yet once it fell onto the meta everything changed. The metal shouted out, a cry of power that would rupture the ears of normal people marking its birth.
However, it was not finished yet. The metal was born yet he had yet to establish a bilateral connection between himself and the metal, the final and easiest step as its soul was formed from his energies.
Sending a strand of spiritual power toward his creation the metal responded with a strand of its own. Once their two strands connected they could communicate vaguely, it was a strange new feeling that very few people in the world could understand.
"Did it work?" Gu Yuena asked him lightly after the storm her other half had created faded away. She was confident he had succeeded not only because of blind trust but also because she could tell that the metal was truly alive.
"He succeed?" Mu Chen said in complete surprise and bewilderment. He expected the monster of a century from what Mang Tian was saying but this… this wasn't a monster. This was more than that. He was practically a Demon of the Forge.
What Wulin had done wasn't just soul refinement. That was hard enough by itself, it was practically impossible for most people understand the feeling of striking a soul into metal, but Wulin had gone a step further. The metal retained its intelligence. He wasn't a rank seven, he was a rank 8!
"It did." Wulin replied to her despite her question already having been answered, the metal turning into a viscous liquid and disappearing in his body, the injury on his finger already having healed. If it hadn't then there would be a large problem.
"Congratulations then." Gu Yuena praised sincerely, a benefit freely given only to him. Gu Yuena was a dragon, the king of spirit beasts, and despite being the wise half she was born from the Dragon God, she was incredibly arrogant.
She doesn't praise easily nor does she acknowledge others freely. They would need to impress her with a feat of sufficient splendor to receive that reward. She was similar to her other half in that regard. However, her other half was spared from that fate.
They were beings at the same level, gods in their own right, there was no need to be arrogant with your equal otherwise you would be a fool. The same could be said for her as well though Wulin wasn't quite as free with his praise.
"I have a request." Wulin said simply to the stunned and bewildered giant, his hand once more intertwined with his other half to restore his lacking energy reserves. He may have been able to substitute most of the energy requirements with blood essence but it was still draining.
Normally to soul refine it was required to have reserves equal to a Spirit King at the very least and he was nowhere near that with his cultivation of a Spirit Grandmaster. It should have been impossible and normally it would be.
The only reason he succeeded was because he had the blood essence of a divine beast of the highest caliber running through his veins. Without the power stored in each drop of blood, he wouldn't have had the energy required to do Spirit Refinement let alone Soul Refinement.
"What is it?" Mu Chen asked, finally breaking out of his stupor. He had just seen something amazing, a certain degree of help in return wouldn't be too bad since it would help the relationship between the two groups.
"I would like to be listed as a rank five blacksmith." Wulin requested the branch head seriously. He needed to keep his two identities separated and it was suspected that Grace Mirchea Luslec either knew or was a high ranking blacksmith.
So he needed to make his actual self fall behind in that regard. The rumor only spread because that was where he was using all his refined metals so there was no real harm to his true identity anyway. In the end, it would only be a good thing. If it was accepted of course.
"Why? You would be the youngest saint rank blacksmith in history!" Mu Chen asked him seriously. The achievement wasn't small, as a record holder himself he would know, yet this kid wanted to give it up?
"We're being added to a new program at Eastsea Academy so I don't have time to be hounded by greedy people." Wulin explained bluntly. Hearing of his talent thousands of people and groups all around the world would try to place him under their banner no matter the cost.
Even just having the certification of a rank five blacksmith was overkill but it's what Mang Tian wanted so he wouldn't argue against it. He held a great deal of affection toward his stoic smithing teacher and wouldn't deny him unless necessary.
"A new program?" Mu Chen reiterated with a frown. The kid in front of him was a monster in the forge but he was learning how to fight as well? Normally he'd have some complaints but clearly, it was working out just fine.
"It's called Class 0. Your daughter attends our school so if you ask her about it she'll probably tell you." Gu Yuena intervened, assisting her other half in the conversation since he wouldn't have explained anymore and just pushed for his goal instead.
"I'll do just that." Mu Chen agreed simply, greatly pleased that his daughter was well known at the school. Even the monster in front of him knew about her! "As for your request…" He said with a frown. It wasn't an easy request to accept as a blacksmith.
But he wasn't just a smith.